Despite its relatively small size, Uttarakhand historically witnesses regional divide (Kumaon vs Garhwal and plains vs hills), and this regional fault line affects the political and electoral outcome in the State.
It is believed that whenever power position (Kumaon vis-à-vis Garhwal) changes, it affects the development of other regions. If we look at the leadership and centre of politics of the two main political parties — the Congress and the BJP — one can see that the Congress leadership has largely been from the Kumaon area and allegedly works for this region; whereas, most of the BJP leaders are from Garhwal and this works favourably for the region. But the BJP tried to balance this by inclusion of Nainital (in the Kumaon region) MP Ajay Bhatt in the Modi Cabinet in the recent Cabinet reshuffle and by making Pushkar Singh Dhami, a Kumaoni, as the Chief Minister.
